Confession: I am not a clean person and in fact, I rather despise cleaning (cue all family members/former roommates nodding their heads emphatically). So it was a shock to my husband and even to myself, when last Spring, I got quite the bug to start some Spring cleaning. I purged my entire closet, organized cleaning/chore schedules for the kiddos and also dove into the world of DIY cleaners. And now that I have started, the creative part of the process is just as fun as saving my little family from toxins and chemicals coming into our house. It is also saving us some money as we haven’t bought a single cleaning product since beginning this venture last April (the ingredients needed for most of these recipes is cheap cheap and lasts a long time!!).
Most DIY cleaners take a combination of the following products (I keep these on hand to mix together whatever I need):
White Cleaning Vinegar (I put lemon rinds directly into the container to take away the strong odor)
Washing/Baking Soda
Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap (we love lavender and citrus)
Powdered Citric Acid
Rubbing Alcohol (or substitute actual alcohol collecting dust in your cabinets)
Various Essential Oils (message me for details on which brand I love and why)
Here a few recipes that I love from the ebook DIY Natural Household Cleaners by Matt and Betsy Jabs. As you can see, I write the actual recipes right on the label so I don’t have to search through the book to “refill” the cleaner every so often. If it’s easy to do, we’ll keep doing it right????
TBD Clean: All-Purpose Shmutza
3 cups hot water
1/4 teaspoon liquid castille soap (we use Lavender scent)
4 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons borax
6 drops lavender, 4 drops rosemary
Combine ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to dissolve borax.
** I like to add specific essential oils that will also help my family and my mood on a day to day basis since we use this spray the MOST in our kitchen and living spaces. I love the dual purpose this spray can serve. **
TBD Clean: Dishwashing Soap
1 cup liquid castille soap (we use Citrus scent)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
10 drops wild orange essential oil
6 drops grapefruit or lime essential oil
Combine all ingredients in a squirt bottle and shake gently to mix (we just reused an old Dawn container – works great!). If formula looks like it’s leaving streaks, add 1/4 cup white vinegar to rinse water.
** Even though it doesn’t suds like normal soap, it is effective and you don’t have to use a whole lot for an entire sink load of dishes. **
TBD Laundry Detergent
2 1/4 cups liquid castille soap (we use Lavender scent to aid in our kiddos’ need for calm at all hours of the day)
1 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon powdered citric acid
10-15 drops lemon essential oil
5 drops tea tree essential oil
Combine all ingredients in container with a pour spout (I use the blue glass container you see above from Target a while back). Shake gently to combine each time before adding to washer. It will separate after time and become paste-like so I don’t make huge batches at a time. This blue container takes our family of 4 about 2-3 weeks to get through. I also add some white vinegar (with lavender essential oil added) into the fabric softener portion of our washer to help keep our clothes nice and soft!
We really love our cleaners so far and my next adventure into the DIY world will be soaps and hygiene products (including DIY deodorant and lotions). I not only feel good about eliminating chemicals from our home, but I save time and money by creating our own products instead of adding one more item to our grocery list. If you’re interested in other recipes, please feel free to message me or peruse Matt and Betsy’s website.
Happy Labor Day everyone (hopefully you’re not doing too much cleaning today and getting a little relaxing in as well)!!